Naruto: RPG of all Time Edition Final Mix
by Xamusel - Gamma 11
Summary: When Naruto finds some books of mysterious power, the lives of he and several other people in his world will never be the same. Will darkness prevail, or will the light inside all Humanity prove to be stronger? Rated for things not yet written.


**Naruto: RPG of all Time Edition**

_Story written with permission from Majin Hentai X_

_Story written by Xamusel and F-14 Tomcat Lover_

Prologue: Rulebooks of Destiny

A six year old Uzumaki Naruto, wearing a white tee shirt with an orange spiral on each shoulder, blue shorts, and matching sandals, was walking to his apartment after the ninja prep school let out for the day when he felt the weight of the world fall on top of his head... literally!

"Ouch!" Naruto cried out at the force of the blow. While it didn't have the ability to make him lose brain cells, it _did_ make him lose balance, causing him to fall flat on his face.

Two seconds later, Naruto started getting up from his predicament, causing thirteen books of varying size to fall from on top of his head and onto the ground. Naruto, unsure of what these books were for, decided to put them in his book bag, regardless, and make sure that he kept them close to him.

* * *

Upon reaching his apartment, Naruto set the books down on his kitchen table, intent on opening them one by one, just to see what he had to deal with. As his smallish hands made to open one of the books, he paused, seeing something out of the corner of his right eye. What he saw was a pamphlet that seemed to go with the books, though he didn't understand how it went with them; he just knew it to be the case.

When he picked up the pamphlet, he received a jolt of electricity in the back of his brain, which normally doesn't happen except in an extreme situation like electrotherapy for brain growth, getting tossed off a 10,000 foot cliff, or something similarly drastic. After five seconds of the electric shock, Naruto shook his head to clear the remains of it out, which lead to him opening the pamphlet that came with the books. When he started reading the pamphlet, he started to get a sense of... someone, or something, at least, in his head.

_"Fame... power... glory... all yours should you swear your allegiance to me, the one known as Ny-"_ was all the voice ever got into Naruto's head before it warped into a static-like mess.

Naruto, unsure of what he was hearing before the change to static, thought to himself, _'What was that about?'_ Upon thinking those words, however, his attention was grabbed by what he was reading.

**To the one reading this pamphlet, if your name is not Uzumaki Naruto, you will be incinerated by the time you reach the end of this line. If your name _is_ Uzumaki Naruto, on the other hand, you have been selected to lead numerous adventures throughout foreign realities with your friends by your side. In order to learn of the benefits involved with these adventures, turn the page.**

Naruto, not seeing any reason to disobey the instructions, turned the page of the pamphlet to read on.

**Before you get all excited that you get to go on adventures that would surely make you Hokage, you need to know that there's more to this life than you can imagine, such as finding riches enough to overthrow an economy of an entire _world_ if you're not careful, and even artifacts that would put the treasures of the Rikkudo Sennin to shame in their sheer usage! Not only do you have the capacity to bring back such prestige to your home, you also get to bring back powers beyond prior comprehension and even the tools to use said powers, should they require that you use tools to use them! To learn of the risks of adventuring, turn the page.**

Naruto turned the page again.

**The most prevalent risk of adventuring is death. Yes, you read that right, _death_. To put it into perspective, should you ignore the power that comes with this pamphlet and the books and go straight to the Ninja Academy after the boring years of civilian school you are currently going to, you'll be stuck at level 0 before you finally graduate from the Academy at level 1 _minimum_. After graduating from the school, you'll be given an instructor that will have to babysit you for until he feels you're ready for the Chūnin Exams, which means you'll be at least level 5 and a strong Genin-level ninja in specific areas. No real risk of death until you hit Chūnin-level or even higher, if your life is really that dull, for that matter. In order for you to advance in strength, you'll need to advance in levels in this life, meaning that you need to fight or do other things that would result in you getting better experience points for levels. To learn more on levels and experience points, turn the page.**

Again, Naruto turned the page.

**Levels and Experience Points work differently depending on the type of adventure you're going on. Generally, though, you can only advance from level 1 to level 2 by obtaining 1,000 Experience Points total. After that, then you need to refer to the different manuals to learn how many points you'll need to advance in the different levels, mostly because of the fact that each level up system is different from each other and I don't want you to think they're all uniform when they aren't in reality.**

**Now that you know how this should work, it's time to form a party of fellow adventurers for your first adventure in the multiverse, by means of asking people to join you on this adventure and potentially the next ones that follow. To do that, you'll need to speak with people and ask that they join you on an adventure, which will mean that you'll have to convince concerned parents that their children will be alright with you somehow instead of in danger just by being with you. It might do you some good to recruit an adult ninja to go with you, in order to soothe the fears of the parents, mostly because they want to know that their children will be safe somehow. Happy Hunting, Uzumaki Naruto.**

Naruto was a bit confused, but figured it would be a good way to make friends. Now he had to choose. He had a lot of choices actually, but he knew a few that would likely say yes. Like that brown haired girl who always liked to play with rather sharp objects and exploding paper. She was actually a nice person, but she really didn't interact with him much, not so much because of her parents -she was an orphan like he was-, but because she lived on the other side of town.

Yeah, that would be a good idea. He even remembered her name, it was Tenten. She did seem to have a nice side as she was a lot more friendlier to him.

Then there was that one boy he had seen. The one being teased about having no Chakra. He saw him being observed by a ninja who had nodded at his determination to overcome that difficulty. Rock Lee was his name, another orphan brought from outside of the village.

Then there was Shikamaru. True, he would hate the physical aspect, but Naruto knew that if it got him away from his mother for a while, he'd do it. Plus, since there was some running around, she would likely throw him out and tell him not to come back until the game was over. Yeah, that sounded right actually.

He then thought up others, maybe that girl from that one family that always had a tree stuck up their collective bottoms. She was really nice and kind, plus there was that woman who was with her always. That would let Shikamaru's parents know they would be watched over.

Plus this could be his chance to get close to Sakura-chan! There would be two other girls and a lady, so she might just agree! It was so perfect; he couldn't help, but giggle in thought of successfully getting Sakura to notice him!

Yes it would work!

He should go see Tenten and Rock Lee first. Then Shikamaru. That way the nice lady and the girl that she was with would be able to see he was being honest. He would also have to learn the girl's name too, now that he thought about it. Wasn't it Hina-something? It was sort of like Kiba's older sister's name. He was sure, but not too sure, but either way, he was going to find out.

Then he saw the sun was dipping low... he'd better start. He knew that Tenten lived alone like he did, so he better hurry and ask before she went to bed. Hopefully it would work out. No he had to be positive, it _will _work out.

So Naruto, with course decided, headed out in a hurry. So much so he forgot to close his door.

* * *

Cat landed with a shake of her head and a smile as she closed it before following. Her graceful movements a match for his hurried ones. She was curious as to what had set the boy off like that? He seemed excited more so than usual. How odd, but welcoming.

She watched as he hurried, clearly trying to beat the dying light from the setting sun. Her movements had to pick up a few times, Naruto was always so wily. His short size often didn't help her or the others assigned to watch over him. Even with his love for bright colors and his bright hair, he could disappear with almost absurd ease on them. Plus his ability to find them was startling and second to none. Even the Hokage had problems even in his prime at tracking ANBU, Naruto didn't and he was not even ten years old.

She had to giggle a little when he bounded into Uchiha Mikoto, who only set him on his feet and ushered him off. She had only stopped him long enough after putting him on his feet to brush off the dust on him. Then she let him go on his way with only a sad smile. She wondered about that herself, though she had an idea, she just couldn't believe it possible.

That with a name like his, that every enemy outside their walls hadn't figured it out that is.

_'Why here?' _she thought when she realized they were in the blacksmith district.

Sure, it was an area completely missed and happened to be home to the weapon specialized ninja. Being on this side of town, the Kyuubi had completely missed this district which helped recovery of the village as a whole. Then she remembered that he briefly met a girl from here.

* * *

Tenten was tired as she changed. She lived alone, no surprise since the death of her parents. It had to be the single most terrifying experience of her young life, though she did not doubt she'll be even more terrified in her chosen line of work, but for now, it was the worst. Seeing her mother killed in such a fashion was something that would haunt her for the rest of her life. The only good thing was the Hokage and how he had personally come to visit her and console her. It made her prouder to be part of Konoha as the Hokage had always shown a deep bond with their people and Ninja.

She was soon dressed in a pink top and white bottoms pajamas. Her brown hair was let down to rest on its own, reaching to the base of her neck. She padded around in a pair of pink slippers as she passed her parents room. She didn't glance in; she had seen it enough after their deaths. Then, before she reached her room, she heard knocking at her door.

Frowning as she observed the time, the 7-year old girl shrugged and headed down to the door. She took a look to see who and was surprised to see that Naruto boy. She giggled lightly at the bouncing look on his face. Naruto, as she learned, was rarely the sit down and be patient type.

He knocked impatiently and she responded, "Hold on, I'm here Naru-tan," she knew he didn't particularly enjoy being called that, but he didn't mind if it was her.

She swung the heavy wooden door open and stepped out, "What can I do for you at this late at night Naru-tan?"

"Ten-tan!" he whined to her face with a smile on his face as she in turn grumbled having forgotten that was his way of revenge.

"Okay, Naruto," Tenten responded and heard him chuckled at his victory, "Or do you prefer Naru-chan instead?"

Now she enjoyed Naruto's turn to grumble before smiling, "Ten-chan!" okay, they could probably keep at this for some time, "I wanted to know if you would like to play a game with me?"

She blinked in surprise, "What sort of game Naru-tan?"

She saw he ignored her attempt at riling him up to cover up she just how simply surprised she was as he continued, saying, "Simple. We take the roles of different types of warriors and defeat evil wherever it may strike! It would not involve us being captive for another person to rescue or whatever, but it would require a lot of luck, especially if we want to survive."

Of course, from the sounds of it, she was certain that Naruto wasn't entirely sure about the specifics, but he couldn't be closer to the truth without experiencing it first-hand, or so she guessed.

Tenten went into thought with one hand supporting her other arm as she held her chin...

"Okay, I'm in," she stated, it was better than what most kids had the girls play and she hated being cast as weak.

"Great!" she watched Naruto jump into the air, punching his fist skyward.

"So when should we meet?" Tenten asked next mildly amused by his antics.

"Tomorrow we have no classes in the morning, right?" Naruto inquired and Tenten nodded as she confirmed for him.

"Yeah, they need the Academy for the graduates this year, so no class in the morning," she confirmed, at least she had paid attention and she figured Naruto only heard no class in the morning.

"How about we meet at the gates about half an hour before class?"

"Okay, that sounds good," Tenten nodded though curious as to who else was going to be involved, "Um; who else will we be playing with?"

"I'm hoping that Rock Lee kid, you know, the one who can't do anything more than Taijutsu."

"Oh yeah," Tenten remembered the boy, always a hard worker that one, "I wonder if he would be up to it?"

"I'm going to his place next, but aside from him, I'm gonna ask Sakura-chan, Shikamaru, and that girl from that rich clan with the white eyes and seeming with a-"

"Na-ru-to," Tenten interrupted and Naruto gulped, "I'm a lady, even if you are right."

She enjoyed that it took Naruto a moment to process that, but they both broke up laughing and hard. It took a few minutes to calm down, but then she heard Naruto explained that the girl was really nice, if odd. To Tenten, she only sounded shy, painfully so, but she was fine with that. Plus, with a chunin to watch over them, she would likely be allowed to do so, maybe.

Clans like the Hyūga were a bit... stiff that way.

Eventually, though, they had to finish up and wrap up. With that said, she watched as Naruto headed off to Rock Lee's, trying to beat the nearly gone sun. Though she figured he'd likely find Lee only now returning from training.

With a shrug, Tenten went back inside her home and then off to bed.

Little did she, or Naruto know, what was to happen to them in the near future.

* * *

In the shadows, following silently, Cat racked her brain for information on the girl. Her father had been a ninja and her mother a blacksmith. The father had been killed in a skirmish with Kiri Ninja a few years ago. That had been bad business, but it got worse as the Kiri-Nin realized how good the mother's skills were. That had been a reason why Konoha-Kumo relations hadn't descended straight to war.

Nothing like the enemy of my enemy to keep my enemy busy.

She alighted next to an ANBU patrolling the district. He barely acknowledged her, he was more interested in supporting a patrol of Uchiha Military Police as they dealt with some rowdy drunks from a tavern. A few were Mercenary Ninja and Guard Ninja, the kind without a village to call home, but also on the legal side of the law. They were keeping to themselves as much as drunks could when they got rowdy and began to have a 'contest' of sorts with other drunks.

Seriously and they called themselves adults.

She spied Naruto approach the home of the girl. The family had no family name, no surprise. There were a lot of ninja who didn't, but they were in the minority in the last few decades. A lot of the old names having died off, so new blood filled in and it was simply something the highborn could not tolerate, ninja without family names. They expected to be defended by those with such names. A weird case of vanity if she could judge as such.

He knocked on her door. It took a while, the girl answered though. She was dressed for bed, but she heard Naruto out. She looked totally surprised by his proposal and ideas. Cat shook her head in surprise. Leave it to Naruto to find something like that and go through the trouble to find someone like Tenten to play with.

The smile behind her mask indicated she was happy he had thought of such a thing. In this district, there were many former retainers and people of Uzu no Kuni and as such, Naruto was actually among friends. Sure he was an unknown to them, largely due to a lack of contact, but they had none of the amenity that the others in the village did. So he was sure to find a few friends here.

It seemed that everything was going well. She was glad for him as he started to head back home. He had a smile on his face and Tenten was also equally happy that someone actually wanted to be around her for her developing skills. That and her love of pointy and explosive objects.

Some men would consider her a goddess for the latter when she got older

She saw the two of them speak for a short. It was clear the girl was interested and that was good. Naruto had only a few friends, just a few boys from his classes, but she already knew that it wasn't as strong as it could have been. The bond was simply not there. At least at this time, she hoped.

She giggled to herself as Naruto launched himself into the air. He was so excitable. She ideally wondered if she ever had a son, if he would be that hyperactive. She hoped not, but at least she had plenty of practice with Naruto.

Then she saw them conclude, likely setting a time and place. She was curious about what he had in mind for a game. She'll listen in a bit more.

She began to follow him again as he left. It didn't take long. She noticed it was that boy now, the one that Maito Gai went on about as a good mark for being a ninja. As a taijutsu specialist, she would agree. The boy would be good for their more 'public' units.

They began to talk.

* * *

Naruto rushed over to where Rock Lee lived, with Cat tailing from the rooftops, who was hard pressed to keep up with the bundle of stamina. As soon as Cat realized where he was going next, she couldn't help but ponder why he would do this, given that the older orphan boy was not one of those that would take playtime as an enjoyable form of activity.

Before he could make it to where he thought Rock Lee lived, however...

"Oh, Naruto-san, what a surprise! I didn't expect you to show up at this time of day."

...Rock Lee made it to him, for some reason.

Naruto screeched to a halt in front of the older boy, barely making it to five feet away from the older boy, before he repeated his question that he asked Tenten to his elder orphan. After describing it to Rock Lee, he was assured that they would be playing together with the others, should they agree, that is.

"Thanks, Rock-san, I'll keep that in mind!" Naruto declared before he turned to rush over to where Shikamaru lived. Before rushing off, however, Rock Lee grabbed Naruto's shoulder and kept him in place for a bit.

"Naruto-san, my given name isn't Lee, like what most people would believe. It really is strange that you would think that, though I can tell that everyone in the village would be confused by that," Rock said. With that, he let go of Naruto's shoulder and gave a wave of his hand, before saying, "I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto-san!" With that, he left for his home, letting Naruto go about his business.

* * *

Cat watched as Naruto then headed home. He'll likely ask the others in the morning. It was late and she was honestly rather eager to be home herself soon. After all, Hayate had the next day off, as did she.

Still, she would keep watch until her time was up. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy the task. If anything, she got a little bit of training and a lot of entertainment. Naruto could be such a funny person at times. Then there was the fact that when he was really lonely, he sought her or one of the other ANBU guards for him out. He made it a habit to sneak up on them and when they finally notice him, he would be sleeping leaning against them.

For the female members, they found this cute.

For the male members, they only sighed and kept watch on their 'little brother.'

She watched as Naruto arrived home with no problems. Only a minor case of him not watching where he was going, but Maito Gai only gave a laugh and sent him on his way. Gai was actually good with kids, if that was possible. Then again, his antics really excited them in ways that many hoped would **_NOT_** be emulated in later life.

As Cat watched Naruto get ready for bed, she felt the presence of another. She turned to look. It was Liger, she was on station tonight. The woman was relatively new to the ANBU ranks, but she was from the Inuzuka and was stalwartly loyal. Like most Inuzuka, she had had dog familiars. A run-in with a S-Class Rogue Ninja though had taken them from her. As such, she transferred to the ANBU and seemed to be doing well. Naruto always managed to get the woman to play a game of tag with him.

It was... therapeutic for her.

"Anything I should know about?" Liger asked in that tone that was common to the women of her clan, sounding like she was ready for a rough and tumble fight and eager for it too.

"Yes," she replied with a sing-song tone that surprised Liger, but after what she was told, she was smiling behind her mask, "You have it from here?"

"I do," Liger replied, "Try to be on time in 48 hours and without the limp."

Cat only seemed to take off faster, leaving Liger to chuckle and shake her head as she settled in for the night.

* * *

Naruto woke up refreshed from his actions from the night before, which wouldn't normally be possible at that time in the morning, which was 0600 hours. Upon getting out of bed, Naruto prepared to get ready for school, only to remember that classes weren't starting so soon in the day. With that, Naruto took his shower -he forgot about the fact that his bathtub was ready for use after being fixed- and got into his clothes, preparing to get breakfast made (aka, make a cup of instant ramen, which was all he seemed to get for some reason). When he finished making the breakfast, he was about to go to his kitchen table to eat when he suddenly remembered that there were books on it, books that had somehow landed on top of him the day before.

After eating his meal at the table, Naruto remembered his plans for the day included getting the other four people ready to play with him, so he decided to grab a book at random and take it with him to see how the books would help him play with the others. With that, he headed off to the others, which would be a blessing in disguise for everyone involved.

Upon grabbing a book that showed a dragon in a dungeon fighting a large group of adventurers, Naruto felt a surge of... something enter his veins, though he didn't know what it was. He didn't want to look in the book to see if it had a clue yet, because that was something that he didn't feel like he needed just yet, due to his mind screaming at him not to open the book this soon.

* * *

Nara Shikamaru immediately felt a danger sense activate. Only a few things could set that off. This was also the worst one...

He cracked open an eye and saw his mother talking to Naruto.

"Tch! Troublesome," he knew what might just happen.

"I see," Nara Yoshino spoke slowly, seemingly deciding on a fate and Shikamaru knew that Naruto had the personal favor of the kami of luck so...

"Yes, he can play, it would be nice for him to get out of the house for a week," the woman sighed in annoyance, "Chouji is currently ill and he's been such a pathetic mess," she reached over and grabbed Shikamaru and pulled him in close, "I'll allow you out of your chores as long as you go and have a little fun! Understood," it wasn't a question and Shikamaru only nodded obediently, "Good boy!" his mother beamed down on him, "Especially if you can help that poor Hyuuga girl, I swear, if only Kushina was still around, that clan would be lot more tolerable."

Not once, did she notice her slip of the tongue, but neither boy inquired. Shikamaru for fear of his life and Naruto, because that name seemed to strike a chord in him. He didn't understand it, but he'll figure it out later. It was that simple.

With that said, Yoshino headed off, bidding her son and Naruto a pleasant day. Shikamaru then asked Naruto what was going on, earning a flat look from the boy. The top knot wearing boy only shrugged the look off and Naruto sighed and explained the game. Actually, Shikamaru wondered if Chouji could play once he was over his bout with illness.

"Sure, why shouldn't he?" Naruto looked honestly perplexed and Shikamaru forgot that Naruto wouldn't have had it another way.

"Right, sorry, geez," getting out of chores, he felt sorry for his father, oh well.

"So who's involved and what's that about a Hyuuga?" Shikamaru inquired and raised an eyebrow at Naruto's explanation, "Okay, I can see where you're coming from, sounds fun actually."

"YEP!" Naruto all but shouted in Shikamaru's ear, "Have I steered you wrong before, believe it!"

"Well, there was that one time, but I still blame Kiba for getting the wrong map on that."

"A technicality, since it was the dog's breath fault."

"_What_ **was **_that _Naruto?" the said dog's breath demanded from behind the shorter boy, "I thought I didn't hear right?"

"Which part?" Naruto looked innocent, "The Dog's Breath Part or the Part for grabbing the wrong map?"

"Ki-ba!" and the feral boy was already on the run as his mother wanted answers.

"He's going to be insufferable later you know," Shikamaru was glaring at Naruto, "And how did you know that his mother would fly off the handle like that?"

"Yeah, but enjoy the moment," Naruto began, "And his mother and father were trackers and scouts, so getting the wrong map is blasphemy in their eyes."

"Oh, true," Shikamaru agreed.

* * *

Haruno Sakura was a few things in life, but a fangirl was not one of those things quite yet, and her parents wanted to ensure she didn't do that. If anything, they wanted her to play with people closer to her age, and eventually train to be a strong Kunoichi like her mother. There was nothing wrong with being a fan, but fangirls were considered a scourge to all Kunoichi, no questions asked.

Then again, one of Sakura's traits was that she happened to be a good singer, something that she prided herself on. It was while she was practicing her vocals that there was a knock at the door to her family's house. Her parents didn't want to disturb their "Angelic Singer" from practice, so they went to the door for her, making sure to check to see who it would be that needed them.

When they opened the door, they were surprised to see Naruto at the door with Shikamaru behind him, and even more surprised because Naruto had a book with him that Shikamaru didn't seem to notice. Before Naruto or Shikamaru could say anything, Haruno Mebuki asked, "Naru-kun? Shika-kun? What brings you two to our house?"

Both boys had heard singing from the house. As they got closer it had gotten clearer. It was rather nice; Shikamaru guessing it was Sakura herself. Both had become enraptured by it and so when Mebuki opened the door, they hadn't noticed immediately.

Her voice soon snapped them out of it with Naruto as the first one to recover himself from listening to the song in the house and quickly began to speak with his usual hyper energy, "We're here to see if Sakura-chan wants to play with us! I already asked two others if they wanted to play as well, and they said yes! So Shikamaru and I, we were hoping that-"

Mebuki held up her hand and said, "Say no more, Naruto-kun. I know you would like to hear an honest answer, so here's what I'll say. Yes, you may play with her, though you'll need to wait a bit for her to finish her singing practice, as she's at a point where she'll need to practice a lot to maintain her voice."

While Mebuki was giving her daughter time, Sakura was actually almost done with her singing practice for the day, which resulted in her giving off a heavenly sound while she was finishing up.

_samayoidasu kasuka na kibou o_

Naruto, while he had heard it was Sakura singing the song, couldn't help but wonder where she got her voice from. It really was as if an angel was singing through her, and this angel was probably Kami-sama's best one for the job.

_hisshi ni dakishimeru no wa_

_ushinaenai riyuu ga aru kara_

_boku o sasaeru nukumori…_

Within Sakura's room, her movements were graceful, as she moved to the beat of the music that was playing in it. Her breathing was labored, as she had been doing this for a good amount of time, but she didn't let that stop her from singing and dancing.

Her hands moved to her heart, her feet crisscrossing every so often, as her lips were ushering the words as if in the choir of 10,000 angels of similar skill level to the one that made up her voice. She was willing the words to come from her heart, so to speak, which seemed to be a fair assessment.

While she continued to sing, Sakura moved her hands out in an open gesture as if to show the love within her heart, which didn't seem like it was off for her.

_ataerareta chikara tokihanachi_

A vocal hitch nearly happened, though Sakura somehow suppressed it, given that she was so close to finishing her singing for the time being.

_ima koso kanaete miseru_

_namida shite mo ushiro furimukazu_

_susumu yo yakusoku da kara_

Her breathing was about to give out on her from all the dancing that she was doing while singing, so she slowed her dancing down to no dance left, all the while conserving the energy she had left.

While she couldn't dance further, her singing was impressive enough still, given that she had practiced her singing for situations like this. It was just one of her talents that she had, being able to recover energy for dancing later on, which made her parents suspect that she had a bloodline limit within her or something.

_ikinuku tame furikazasu yuuki _

_kioku ga jama suru no nara _

_jibun dake no seigi o kakagete _

_itami mo tsubasa ni kaeru_

With a final burst of energy, Sakura picked up her dancing routine, which lead to her crisscrossing her legs again, which was the result of her dancing practice and the practice at maintaining her lung capacity. She didn't want to waste her talent with being a screaming banshee, no sir, not one bit.

_kizutsuku tabi kakushin shite yuku _

_"dare yori tsuyoku naritai..." _

_kegare no nai omoi kasaneyou _

_mada minu mirai tsukuru tame_

While Sakura was wrapping up for the day, Naruto couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! Cool song!" then he thinks aloud, "I know I've heard that song before? I can't remember the name."

Mebuki answered, "It's a practice song for Sakura, one that I'm glad she's finally finished working with," then she smiled at Naruto, "It is also called 'fortissimo-the ultimate crisis-' for some reason."

With that, Sakura came out of the singing room and asked, "Who's at the door, mom? I could have sworn that there was someone here, and..." As soon as she laid eyes on Naruto, she wanted to go back into the room and practice some more.

It wasn't like she actually hated Naruto, but he could be so annoying at times. He could also be somewhat clingy too. Her mother said that he was an orphan and for some reason he had never been taught proper manners. It honestly didn't surprise Sakura given how her mother and father had been angry when they found out that someone had been making off with orphans to turn them into disposable ninja. That person was able to escape, but the Hokage had clamped down and hard on the orphanages to keep the children safe there. So she could understand, even to her young mind, why Naruto could be something of a pest, but he was at least earnestly nice too.

Yet also, despite how annoying he could be, Naruto did have something about him. She knew that he was nice and kind, but she had also seen him stand up to bullies on numerous occasions. Even though he was beat every time, the bullies usually got into trouble. Then at other times, Naruto just seemed to have this look in his eye that made him… something more.

Mebuki turned to her daughter and said, "I'm glad you could make it, Sakura. Naruto-kun and Shikamaru-kun wanted to know if you were available to play or not. I said that it would be after you finished your singing practice, which you just finished, if I'm not mistaken."

Without a word, Sakura went outside and grabbed a hold of Naruto, signifying that she agreed with the course of action. Of course, if she were aware of what she was doing, she might not have grabbed Naruto as if she were hugging him (or at all).

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata was not your average girl in the Hyuuga clan. For starters, she wanted to be a dancer and a singer, essentially a pop idol, but the rigidity and traditions of her clan was forcing her to break away from her dreams. If anything, the fact that the majority of her clan didn't support her dreams was very disheartening, given that she at least expected her father or someone to give her goals the go-ahead or something. The only solace she could take was that if she tried hard enough, maybe she could become a Medic Ninja.

It wasn't like they would look down on her if she became nearly as skilled as the legendary Slug Sannin after all. It would make her feel better about leaving her dreams behind. Really, the only person that ever considered her dreams to be worthwhile was her late mother. Still, a Medical Ninja was in high demand, what with the demobilization of so many expensive large forces in favor of smaller formations.

Then again, she always had someone looking out for her, a Chunin genjutsu specialist named Yuuhi Kurenai that actually supported her dreams as much as her mother did. In fact, while her job was actually to make sure Hinata was growing to be a Kunoichi instead of what she wanted, Kurenai decided that it would be a good idea to ensure the best of both worlds happened. With that in mind, Hinata practiced being a Hyuuga Kunoichi -and Medic Nin-, while at the same time practicing her singing and her dancing.

It was while Hinata was 'secretly' practicing her dancing and singing just behind the standard educational academy when Naruto and the others simply went to Hinata's would be hiding spot. It was also not that hard to find either. They just had to follow the singing and pass a handwritten sign that the area was off limits. When they arrived, they were surprised to find Hinata practicing her dancing. For both Naruto and Shikamaru were looking at the younger girl with impressed looks on their faces, though Sakura somehow grew jealous of Hinata's dancing ability, because of how easy the Hyuuga girl was making it look.

Then again, the Hyuuga were known for their graceful movements. Not only considered a part of their proper manners, but also a part of their fighting style. As such, it was not all that uncommon for even the males to be more graceful than regular women and such.

Kurenai was unaware of the sudden audience as she started playing some music from a boombox that she brought and nodding, gave another instruction to the young Hyuuga heiress, "Okay, from the top Hinata, but remember to allow the song to freely guide your movements this time. You're being too tense and nervous, let the music show you the path."

"Yes Kurenai-tan," the shy Hyuuga responded and with that, Hinata started to dance once more, allowing the music to take control and show her the path she wanted to follow, feeling the freedom of letting her body move to the sound and beats, her heart alive with excitement as she opened her mouth and finally started singing what she was practicing:

_So! Faraway setsunai kurai kimi o dakishimete itaikedo_

_So! Faraway piriodo no kaze hashiru twilight zone_

_You are wanderer!_

_Shatsu ni kao o uzumete Oh! Loneliness_

_Shiosai no naka tobasu baiku saigo no yoru_

_Kono mama toki ga tomareba Oh! Happiness_

As Hinata put herself into singing, her impromptu audience were startled by the shy girl's passion and impressed by it as well. Even Sakura, as a rival and jealous one at that, was thoroughly surprised and impressed as well as inspired to become better. It sure seemed that she had practiced hard enough to pull this off. Though she obviously had to do so in secret, given that her clan was a bunch of traditionalists that didn't even allow for dancing in the family.

_Egao no mama de ikiteyukesou de_

_Hello! Mirai no kuni kara_

_Hello! Kimi o sasou koe_

_Fushigi na chikara de akuseru kakeru_

_So! Faraway setsunai kurai kimi o dakishimete itaikedo_

_So! Faraway piriodo no kaze hashiru twilight zone_

_You are wanderer!_

Hinata shifted to the song, allowing the flow to guide her limbs. It some way, the movements looked like an advanced form of the Gentle Fist. The only difference was that the movements were less structured, freer in their movement with greater emphasis on her hips moving.

As such, the Hyuuga Heiress looked happy. She felt more alive as she moved and felt herself become one with the song. It resonated deep within her core. She loved it.

_Nani ga ichiban daiji? Oh! Loneliness_

_Kota wa itsu mo kaze no naka de odotteiru_

_Sore o tsukamaetakute Oh! Happiness_

_Ude o no basuyo seishun no memorii_

_Hello! Hitomi o tojireba_

_Hello! Itsumo aeru kedo_

_Senaka ni inisharu yubi ga furueru_

Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura could not help, but watch in amazement. Despite their young age, they could appreciate how hard Hinata was working towards her goal. They found she had a lovely voice as well. Ideally, both boys wondered if Hinata and Sakura were to ever do a duet, what it would be like. They were both sure it would be great though, if troublesome in Shikamaru's opinion.

_So! Faraway naicha ikenai_

_Kimi no Yu-u-ki ga suki dakara_

_So! Faraway yume no kanata e Faraway, Faraway_

_You are a wanderer!_

Seeing that Hinata was finally winding down from her singing, the group was wondering how she would finish her practice, which didn't seem to be that far off for her at present. Eventually, they saw that she had a bit more song left in her, which allowed her to impress her audience somehow.

_So! Faraway watashi mo ikanakya_

_Mune ni hoshi no chizu o hirogete_

_So! Faraway yume o sagashi ni Faraway Faraway_

_We are a wanderer!_

After the song and dance session was completed, the group came out from their hiding spots and cheered Hinata on for what she was doing, causing her to blush heavily from the cheering. Upon seeing Naruto amongst the group that was cheering her on, she nearly fainted from the sight, though Kurenai managed to hold onto her charge in time to prevent her from falling. By the time Hinata's composure returned, which was a few minutes after the cheering finished, she asked, "U-um, w-w-what c-c-can I h-h-help y-y-you w-with, N-n-naruto-kun?"

Naruto, somehow oblivious to Hinata's stuttering problem when around him, began to relay the request to her as well, even going on to explain that he asked Tenten and Lee about the same thing as well with them agreeing as well. It took a while, but Hinata finally heard Naruto out, and even said that, as long as Kurenai was around to help out for safety purposes, she would play with them.

Kurenai, on the other hand...

"Just to be clear, Uzumaki-san, I don't want anything bad to happen to my charge, especially since her family would go after those that would do such things to one of their own." Kurenai leaned in closer to Naruto while saying this, making him feel intimidated by her, and the way it was spoken was even more intimidating. As if noticing how uncomfortable he was feeling, though, she moved back from Naruto's face and said in a more motherly tone, "I'm sorry, but I'm really worried for Hinata's safety as well as her happiness. I don't want to see her hurt in any way, and if what you want to do is really going to be safe, then I'll permit it as long as I'm there to make sure she's safer with an adult."

Naruto, even if he was unaware of the true nature of Hinata and Kurenai's relationship, could understand where the older woman was coming from. He honestly didn't want to cause any trouble for either of them, so he nodded his understanding, letting them know that was on the same page as them. With that, he led the group plus Kurenai and Hinata to the agreed upon play location, still having the book on hand for reasons he wasn't sure about.

* * *

Half an hour later, at the agreed upon location, Tenten and Lee were waiting for Naruto and the others to make it, with Tenten looking at her watch before saying, "I dunno about you, Lee, but this is taking far too long for me to wait. I just hope that we still have time to play by the time they get here."

Rock Lee simply looked around for Naruto and the others in the group, having better patience at times like this than Tenten. Before she could get his attention, Lee spotted Naruto and the others as they were heading in their general direction, leading to him yelling over in their direction, "Over here! We've been waiting awhile for you, Naruto-san!"

As the others hurried it to where Rock Lee and Tenten were, something strange happened, though nobody that wasn't in the group was able to notice the change. It seemed as if the air itself was shimmering with power, though nobody was aware of what was going on, unless it was too late.

Naruto, when he made it to where Rock and Tenten were at, decided to wait for the others to catch up to him before he did anything that he might regret later. Upon the arrival of the others, Naruto decided that now would be the right time to open the book, just to satisfy his curiosity about what he was feeling from it. Before he could open it, though, he said, "Before we play, this needs to be taken care of. It's been bugging me for a while now." Before anyone could say anything to stop him, he opened the book.

It was then that the shimmering air was noticed by those that Naruto had inadvertently chosen to accompany him on this adventure.

With the power that was circling the group, plus the open book that had Kami-sama knows how much power being fed into it, everyone that was included in the adventuring party could feel as if they were being formed into things that were not quite human by their standards. In fact, if things were like this with a group of regular humans, the normals would be deader than dead by now.

As it turned out….

* * *

In a separate part of the multiverse at large, on a planet that was home for many sources of conflict and many more supernatural entities, a primordial force of insanity and utter evil had been traveling the world in the shape of a tall, slim, and joyous man, when it heard a heralding from the distant part of the multiverse, Gorlum, the home planet of Konoha and the other Ninja Villages. Upon hearing the heralding that would signify the end of all creation in a distant planet, it paused in its travels, wondering what it was supposed to do. Eventually, it shrugged in its human form, the form of a young man that had blue hair with a bang over his right eye, grayish-blue eyes, a white dress shirt under a black button-up shirt that wasn't buttoned up, black pants, an MP3 player with earphones keeping it from falling to the ground, and bluish shoes.

With that, Nyarlathotep decided to head for the planet Gorlum, though it honestly knew that it would take a while to find the right one. At the very least, 11 years was a good estimate for how long it would take, maybe 14 at the latest if it took that long to find the right one. It would be patient in the quest to find the fools that called upon it. For now, though, it had something that needed attention in a separate town. Iwatodai was somehow not good for its sense of insanity.

* * *

In a separate part of reality, a man wearing a white trench coat, black clothing underneath that, and a strange butterfly mask that covered his whole face could feel the changes caused by a call to the Great Old Ones and the Outer Gods, especially with his rival Nyarlathotep being in the lead to a planet far from his usual outlet. This man, Philemon, knew that things would get messy if Nyarlathotep ever made its way to where it was going to, so he decided intervene to prevent a repeat of Sumaru City, where he and it made a bet that Humans were capable of self-destruction.

Looking into the collective unconscious of humanity that lived in this planet, Gorlum, Philemon saw so many things. Fear, hatred, and so many other emotions were being put onto one boy. The boy, however, had a strong grip on his identity. He and his friends would need that grip on their identities to stop Nyarlathotep, though Philemon knew he couldn't directly intervene until the threat of the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones was more palpable, so he decided to look into the source of the call to his rival and associates.

Before Philemon could successfully look into it, however, the source vanished and the boy and friends with it.

"Most interesting," Philemon said to himself mostly. "Perhaps this boy would make for a great Persona wielder, should the time ever come. I have to make sure that he doesn't forget his true nature along the way."

* * *

**Xamusel's A/N: Well… shorter Author Notes this time and longer story than what either of us knew what to do with it. I hope that it does better than what it did initially, and that I don't need to rework this prologue any more than I already have.**

**Also, compared to most Naruto fics out there, this one follows none of the fanon details that we can think of. That should be an accomplishment in and of itself.**

**Anyway, Tomcat might want the floor, he might not. I'll have to close this for him, because he isn't on right now, so he can't work on this with me as we speak.**

**By the way, the song title that is under Sakura's singing part is truly correct, as confirmed by Youtube and Anime Lyrics dot Com. The song sung by Hinata, if you're wondering, changed from Hφwling Sφul, the Visual Novel opening for Koihime Musou, to part of the Ronin Warriors soundtrack (Track 17 FARAWAY). Tomcat felt it was a better fit so far… and I agree.**

**Alright… later!**

**~Xamusel**


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